The Mercy of Thin Air

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View books by Ronlyn Domingue.

Enchanting... - Rated
I had heard RD's debut novel likened to Alice Sebolds 'The Lovely Bones', and though it is just as perfectly constructed, the heart and soul of the book couldn't be more different.
It's 1929 and Razi drowns in her fiance's swimming pool and forever stays in limbo - unable to move on and heartbroken over her lost love. Fast forward 70 years and Amy and Scott, a couple who's marriage is tested to it's limit, are watched over by Razi as she narrates her life and her love.
The two strands of the story are wonderfully entwined, though this is not immediately apparent and the 'time jumps' take some getting used to, especially since it is written as a series of paragraphs rather than chapters. However, the writing is gentle and descriptive and utterly enchanting to read.
I loved this novel and excitedly wait her next...

A story of love and grief - Rated

First impression i had of this book was that it was a ghost story and that it explores the time between death and moving on.
However the authors explores issues such as pro life, equality for women and womens rights in 1920's small town America.

I found this book to be very moving and a poignant exploration of love, loss and grief.

'Testing the boundaries of time, grief and death' - Rated
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The combination of the past, the present and the 'in between' introduced some fascinating possibilities into the lives of the characters.

There are some interesting twists and turns as Raziela Nolan (Razi) seeks to follow the life of her beau (Andrew O'Connell) subsequent to her untimely death in the 1920s. As part of her journey of discovery, Razi becomes involved in the lives of Amy and Scott some 70 years after her own death.

This is a novel about love, understanding and compromise which tests the boundaries of time, grief and death. In this, her first novel, Ms Domingue has provided a splendid novel to be read and revisited.

Highly recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The Mercy of Thin Air - Rated
This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. It is so reassuring to read something so moving and well written. When the 'best sellers' lists are filled with block-busters that are badly written but still seem to create a huge following (you know what I'm talking about!) it was a welcome change to read an intelligent, thought-provoking book. The author really knows how to use words and evoke images that draw you in to the heart of the book. I have not become so involved in a book since 'The Time Traveller's Wife'and I look forward to more from her. It is already in my top five books list (currently headed by 'The Secret History' and I just hope we don't have to wait as long as we did for Donna Tartt's second outing!)But it or borrow it, just read it and enjoy.

A Life & Love Now, Between and Beyond - Rated
It is the roaring twenties in New Orleans and Raziela Nolan is much more than a flapper, although she does the whole scene - bath tub gin, Model T, jazz, Charleston and Breakaway - like a pro, thank you very much. Razi also excels in her studies at Tulane University and is determined to become a doctor, a gynecologist. She strongly believes in birth control - and advocates it openly, as well as a woman's right to vote and to work outside the home. She is beautiful, vivacious, smart and savvy, fearless and madly, passionately in love. Andrew P. O'Connell is the lucky man. He is a progressive who respects Razi for her ambition, intelligence and independence. When the two first meet, he asks Razi what she wants to be "when she grows up." Her response is that she wants to be immortal...because...."one lifetime isn't enough to make all the trouble of which I am capable."

There are problems in paradise, however. Razi wants to pursue her medical studies at a northern university which accepted her to medical school on her own merit, without any assistance from influential friends or family. Andrew is going to study law at Yale and wants Razi to go with him and wait until he receives his law degree before going to med school. Or, he will ask his father to help her get into Yale so they can study at the same university. He wants to marry immediately. Razi does not understand his hurry to wed....although she is quite sure of her love and of her commitment to Andrew. They are already lovers. She will be faithful to him and does not doubt, for a minute, his ability to remain true. So, what's the rush?

Then, on a golden day in summer Razi slips and falls while diving into a pool. She dies leaving Andrew and her family totally bereft. She never had the opportunity to tell him she had made a decision about their future. She left so many important things unsaid, because she thought she had all the time in the world.

Probably every human being wonders what happens after death. Is there a heaven? Is there a hell? After Razi dies her spirit lingers for a while near the pool where she drowned. Then she tries to remain with Andrew. "My body is gone, but whatever I am, the sum of my final thoughts, my last breath - has begun to take shape, vague as it is." She discovers, through Noble, a fellow spirit who comes to welcome her, that she is in "Between" - the place between life and what lies beyond. No one here knows what or where "Beyond" is.

Razi is told that her senses of hearing, sight and smell will become much more acute and that she will be able to move fluidly, although invisibly, through the world. "'There are rules, about which we all have an understanding,' Noble says. ‘First, do not remain with your loved ones. You can go anywhere you please, anywhere at all, but leave them alone. Second, do not linger at your grave. One brief visit will suffice. Do that when you are able, perhaps in another seven days. And finally, do not touch. You have no need for it any longer.'" In this place of "thin air" Razi will learn all the rules and will eventually become a guide to assist others who are new, to acclimate, to adapt.

As the years pass, Razi tirelessly searches for Andrew. What has he done with his life? Has he continued to think of her through the years? These are questions that obsess her, as she has never stopped loving him.

"The Mercy of Thin Air " is more than the story of the transcendental love between two people. There is a parallel plot about a troubled young husband and wife, in the 21st century, with whom Razi becomes fascinated - no accident this! Their lives are all intertwined, as Razi will ultimately discover.

While I loved the characters from the 1920s, especially Razi, (she is wonderful!!), Andrew, and best friend Twolly, I did not care as much for Amy and Scott, the couple from today's world. Much of the narrative dealing with their problems seems to be just filler. The prose could have been much tighter. There is a definite problem with editing as there are far too many typos and they do distract. On the other hand, the concept of "Between" absolutely, "pos-a-lute-ly" enchanted me as did Razi's fellow "betweeners," those she meets and hangs-out with in that insubstantial world of thin air.

"The Mercy of Thin Air" does provide a delightful read - faults included and I highly recommend it!
JANA